Noelle wakes up to find that Cookie isn't in her room. It seems Cookie has a surprise in store for her.


AN: No beta we die like hilichurls


'Something is wrong.'

Noelle woke up, clad in her pajamas, and stared at the ceiling.

'Something is wrong.'

She repeated. But she didn't know what exactly was wrong.

She got out of bed slowly. Nope, the bed didn't creak. She had a good night's sleep, after all. And there wasn't anything out of order on her bedside table either. She sat up, and looked around, nothing looked out of place. Her windows were partially open, making a bit of sunshine through, just as she liked it.

In her pajamas, she stood up to fold the curtains. She was already awake, she might as well. Still, as she tidied up her room, there truly was nothing out of place.

Her drawers were all in order, she cleaned her bed up nicely, the plants in her room were watered, the small signboard back on that scorching day was still up on her wall, and the patch she received from her fishing teacher was in her closet, everything was in order.

Even her bathroom hadn't had anything strange or misplaced. And she was the only one who went into that bathroom!

She sighed.

'Why does something feel… off?'

She didn't like this feeling. She didn't like it at all.

But, perhaps it was nothing at all. Maybe it was just in her head. Yes, this uncomfortable feeling was nothing but in her mind. She didn't need to think too much about it at all.

'No time to waste.'

Since she was already in the bathroom, she supposed it was time to bathe. Maybe enjoy that bathing thing that Ellin told her about. She saw some merit when her friend told her it would be a waste not to use her bathtub.

"I'm taking a bath now, Cookie."

She went into the bathroom, closed it, and-

She slammed the door back open and gazed at the room wide-eyed. Her eyes immediately went to the place where the Roomba was.

Or rather, where she should have been. Her charging port was empty. There was no Cookie to be seen.

"Cookie…?"


Coordinator Hertha thought today was going to be a simple routine day. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Wake up, brush her teeth, take a shower, put on her clothes, make sure she looked nice, go to breakfast, have a small, nice chat with the boys, have a really extensive chat with Belinda later in the day, and then eventually the day would go on by its own.

"Cookie!"

A massive screech in the hallway made everyone in the general vicinity of the voice cover their ears.

Yeah, that was already screwed from the get-go.

A massive blur of silver and red sped towards her direction. All of a sudden, she was facing the other way.

And there was a very frantic-looking Noelle in front of her too.

"Noelle? What's wrong-"

"What's wrong? Oh, I can tell you a lot of what's wrong. Why can't I go and bench all the weights in the gym anymore? Why aren't I allowed to clean the entire Knights of Favonius even though Master Jean knows I can do it in under thirty minutes?" Hertha believed her. Not no doubt about that. "But! What's very wrong right now is where is Cookie!?"

What?

"Excuse me did I hear that right?"

"Cookie! Where!"

Noelle's speech patterns were becoming irregular. She must be really shaken. Then again, she did treat Cookie as if she was her own family. Maybe even as a daughter?

"I'm going to need more context, Noelle," she softly advised. "Deep breaths, deep breaths, we don't want you to get light-headed now are we?"

Noelle did her best to elegantly heave. How she pulled it off, even Hertha didn't know. "I… I do not get light-headed."

"Pretty sure you are. Take deep breaths now, then tell me what happened."

Noelle took another couple of breaths and calmed herself. By the end of it, she finally regained her proper posture and usual demeanor.

"Are you okay now?"

The maid nodded. "Yes. I apologize for my previous behavior."

Hertha smiled. "Wonderful. Take all the time you need. Now, what do you want to tell me?"

"It's about Cookie."

"Yeah? What about her?"

"I woke up and she was gone! No trace of her anywhere in my room! Her charging port was brought out from under the bed so I know she was there. But when I woke up she was nowhere to be seen!"

Hertha put a finger to her chin. "Hmmm, that does sound like something to be concerned about. She didn't say anything to you?"

"No. I would've remembered." Noelle shook her head.

"Yeah, true. Hmmm, I wonder… I think we should get someone who might know more about this."

"Oh, then please, I wish to find where Cookie is."

Hertha put a finger to her lips. "Ah, none of that. We're looking for her together."

"Really? But I'd hate to impose."

Hertha shook her head. "Nah, I don't have much to do today either. And I worry about Cookie too so might as well."

Cookie was a very important figure in the Knights of Favonius, after all.


The person that Hertha thought would know about this was Bruce. Noelle didn't know why she said so, but she trusted them both a great deal.

Though first, they had to find Bruce.

Out of habit, Hertha almost mentioned the tavern. But this was no time to joke around or say those things in front of Noelle. Noelle didn't know why because she had already said it many times. Maybe it was because today was a serious predicament.

Regardless, they had to find him first. Now, where would he be at this time? Hertha had an answer to that.

The cafeteria. And right there he was, sitting in his usual chair, a half-eaten sandwich on his plate.

"Cookie is missing? But Cookie is… well, she's Cookie."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. He wiped his mouth with a napkin as he stared at the ceiling and pondered this new information he had gained.

Noelle nodded. "Yes. I woke up earlier and she was gone. She always greets me in the morning," she pursed her lips. "To be honest, it… it felt weird."

"Weird?" Bruce asked.

Noelle nodded. "Yes. I've been living with Cookie for so long that… something feels like it's missing… I've never felt this way before."

Bruce and Hertha exchanged a look.

She was missing Cookie. It said much about how attached the two were.

Bruce remembered the days when Noelle would subtly boast about being independent. Some other Knights had roommates, while Noelle had vehemently disagreed on having one.

And now that she had Cookie with her for most of the past many months, she couldn't imagine going back. Wasn't Ellin going into her room more often too?

If they were in any other situation, Bruce would've smiled. Noelle was too precious.

"You miss her."

Noelle raised an eyebrow, then shook her head. "I can't possibly miss Cookie. We just saw each other not ten hours ago."

"And yet, you miss her."

Noelle's brows furrowed. It was illogical, and she had no idea why missing someone she saw not even a full day ago was a thing, but Bruce was right.

She did miss Cookie. Very much.

The sudden ruffling on her head broke her out of her stupor. She looked to her left to see Hertha smiling at her softly. She returned the smile as the coordinator gestured for the both of them to sit down.

Bruce set his mug down after he took a sip of his coffee. "But, to answer your question. I don't know where Cookie is-"

"Aw."

"But!" he put a finger up. "I do know someone who does know where she is. I 100% guarantee he knows where Cookie is."

Noelle's eyes gleamed. "Really? Who? Where? Where did they take my Cookie?"

For every question, Noelle leaned further and further on the table. Bruce chuckled and used a finger to push Noelle back into her seat.

"I'll tell you after you get some food in your belly."

"But-"

"But nothing. You need strength to get through the day. And heck if I am letting you skip a meal in my presence," Bruce glowered. "Get some food in your system first, then we'll talk."

Noelle and Hertha shivered. Bruce wasn't one to tell others off. He was the type of guy to live and let live.

Until it came to nutrition, of course.

Two sides of Noelle were fighting over control. One side was the logical one that said getting some food would be the best course of action, and the other wanted to find Cookie right away.

A tug at her hand that lead her out of her chair decided for her. That same smile on Hertha's face made her mind's turmoil calm itself.

"Let's go get some food, okay, Noelle? I promise we'll get right back to looking for Cookie."

"...Okay, Miss Hertha."

Hertha watched as the maid made her way over to the other side of the hall to get some food for herself. She turned back to the man eating his sandwich at the table.

"Nice move. Getting Noelle to eat breakfast." For once, Hertha complimented Bruce. If any of the other knights were present they would've smacked their heads on the table thinking it was a dream. Yes, they could be civil at times. Very specific times.

Bruce shrugged.

"You're not you when you're hungry."


Huffman was a fairly busy man. He liked to work, and he also liked to relax. He appreciated every single moment that he was working, and every single moment that he wasn't.

Being a Knight of Favonius was both an honor and a chore. But it was a chore that he took pride in.

Hence, never did he expect to be all but ambushed by a semi-calm, semi-frantic Noelle right in the backyard of the Knights of Favonius.

"Hello, good morning, Mister Huffman. Forgive me for being frank, but may I please ask where Cookie is?"

Huffman blinked. "Good morning, Noelle, Bruce, and Hertha."

Hertha and Bruce sweatdropped. "Good morning, Huffman."

"You're looking for Cookie… do you need her for something?"

Noelle shook her head. "No, she was missing from my room earlier. But her charging port was brought out, meaning she came into our room, charged up, and then left," Noelle sighed. She looked wistfully at the sky, her eyes were glistening. "But why…"

Huffman almost spat out the answer. That face was dangerous. It could make anyone spill their secrets.

"I'm sure she had her reasons, you've spent a lot of time together, haven't you?" Huffman asked. "You've both grown a lot since your first days."

At that, Noelle slowly let out a small smile.

"I… If you asked me if I would feel like this when I was first assigned to Cookie, I would've looked at you in bewilderment but… Yes. Yes, we have gone through a lot together," Noelle scratched her cheek with a finger. "At first I thought of Cookie as just another task given to me by Master Jean. Something to do well, something to do properly."

Huffman smiled. "And now?"

"Now? Now, it's a totally different story," she chuckled. "She's her own person. She's not just any roomba, or robot, or task. She's… Cookie." she fiddled with her hands "She's one of us now."

Huffman ruffled her hair. For once, Noelle didn't mind. "I see. Would you reprimand her?"

"No," Noelle shook her head. "Not at all. Maybe a hug?"

◤Maestra truly is kind.◢

Her eyes widened in an instant. Her voice was a pitch higher, she felt a bit… heavier?

"Cookie!"

She turned around, a weight off her shoulders from hearing the Roomba again. But when she turned around-

Her eyes widened.

"Cookie?" she pointed to the oomba- no, the robot in front of her.

Fashioned more like a huge egg on a movable stand, being somewhat shorter than the typical human height, with three fingers on her little, cylindrical arms along with purple eyes.

◤Yes. I am Cookie, Maestra Noelle.◢ she beeped.

"That's Cookie, yep."

"Oh, that's very different."

"Yeah, no kidding. She's definitely bigger now."

Noelle spun around to Huffman, Bruce, and Hertha. "You knew about this?"

They all nodded. "Yes." Huffman spoke up.

◤Please don't be mad at them, Maestra Noelle. I asked them to buy time for me to finish my upgrades,◢ she said as she spun around, showcasing her new form. ◤And it also affected my speech mechanism, but I have been told it's cute. Appropriate for my form.◢

At that, Noelle dropped her would-be pout and instead opted to look at Cookie. Slowly, she approached Cookie.

The robot seemed to look down at the ground. ◤I am prepared to receive any degree of punishment for worrying Maestra. Please, do as you see fit-"

"None of that now."

Noelle reached out and gave Cookie a hug.

◤Maestra…◢

A hug was something that Noelle had always wanted to give Cookie, yet, with how she was before, it would be akin to hugging a hard, metallic, plushie. Now? With Cooie's new appearance, it made it easier for both of them.

At that time, as they embraced each other, they both had the same thought.

She's so warm.

◤What does Maestra think of my new form?◢

"What do I think? I think it's very cute!"

The digital eyes on Cookie's front became a smile, her mechanic voice gaining a slight cheer to it. ◤I'm so happy Maestra thinks so! But that's not all!◢

"It's not?"

◤Of course not! This form was made to help you. It has many more functions I can show you later.◢

Noelle smiled. "I would love to see them," she then tilted her head. "Wait, made to help me?"

◤Yes,◢ Cookie blushed. ◤I was thinking and I realized that Noelle is everyone's wondermaid. The one they can depend on. Yet, who would take care of Maestra?◢

Everyone's eyes other than Cookie's widened.

"Aw, Cookie, you don't have to worry about that-"

◤So I took it upon myself to be Maestra's maid,◢ Cookie declared. ◤If Maestra is who everyone wants to turn to for help, then I want to be who Maestra turns to for help in return.◢

Noelle's breath hitched. Her hands shook.

◤I-I, that is… if you will let me.◢

Two things went into Noelle's mind.

The first is the fact that Cookie could stutter.

And the second being-

"You're so adorable!"

She hugged Cookie even tighter.

◤Please, feel free to hug Cookie as tightly as you can. I specifically requested my material be strong enough to handle the strain.◢

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." Cookie heard Huffman approach.

Before she noticed it, she felt more arms around her. Huffman, Bruce, and Hertha were around her.

Cookie was feeling very joyous. A few months ago she was around the same people as a Roomba. The warm welcome she received back then was something she intended to repay in service for as long as she could.

And now, with her new form, she was around the same people as well. She felt it appropriate.

◤Thank you, everyone. Thank you for the warm welcome to my new form, Cookie 1.◢

They all chuckled.

Huffman, Bruce, Hertha, and Noelle shared a glance at each other as they draped each other on the new form of their companion.

No other words needed to be shared. In their hearts, they knew what to say. As one, they spoke

"Welcome back to the Knights of Favonius, Cookie!"


AN: This chapter was a long time coming. Of all people, Cookie is the one most attached to her mother- ahem, I mean, Noelle. She lives with her, stores her daily habits, and knows Noelle's qualities and faults to a logical degree that comes with being an AI with a lot of free time.

Well, free time and endless gossip from the other maids.

With this upgrade to Cookie, many new avenues are opened, and possibilities are created. And in lieu of the recent story quest, I have a question.

Would you think Katheryne and Cookie would get along with each other? Just thought I'd ask your opinions on their dynamic.